Re-engineered Yeast Creating Your Scented Candles (and Much More!).

An article from The New York Times states that many of the spices and flavors that people have come to love can now be produced by genetically modified yeast in huge bioreactors. Flavors like vanilla, sumac, saffron come from exotic plants that are difficult to grow under normal conditions. Through the use of genetic engineering, The company called Amyris designed micro-organisms that produce the organic chemicals involved in producing the natural flavors found in plants. Amyris tests thousands of different strains in order to determine the most effective one. This type of production is environmentally friendly and completely sustainable. In fact, this fermentation process conveniently produces a higher yield at a faster rate.

Bioreactors with modified yeast.

With the advent of genetic engineering, I believe that organic-derived spices and flavorings will further increase in price while genetically modified products will be way cheaper since environmental groups are highly against this non-natural process. Honestly, I believe that genetic engineering is a more updated version of selective breeding. This article was just on flavoring, but this technique has a whole variety of uses. Potentially, this technique can be used to advance every field, ranging from food to medicine. Specifically in terms of medicine, the demand has increased dramatically. By using genetically modified organism, medicinal compounds can be created quickly and be distributed at affordable prices. With further research, synthetic biology will transform society for the better.